John Wyndham: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Six classic BBC radio adaptations

Bill Nighy, Barbara Shelley and Peter Sallis are among the cast in six classic BBC Radio dramatisations of stories by one of Britain's most popular science fiction authors. 'The Day of the Triffids', first broadcast in 1968, is set in a world in which most people have been left blind after a meteor shower, and lethal carnivorous triffids are roaming the land. 'The Kraken Wakes', dramatised for radio in 1998, is a gripping story of monsters from the deep, alien invasion and ecological disaster.

After the mysterious events at Coal Hill School, the British government has created the Counter-Measures group, a specialist team that investigates strange phenomena and dangerous technology. Their first missions will involve a haunted warehouse, a groundbreaking artificial intelligence, a mysterious new town and a threat to the future of the country.... Four full-cast audio dramas plus a behind- the-scenes documentary.

Survivors

A deadly virus spreads across the world as quickly as the passenger jets that encircle it. Within weeks most of the global population is dead. The human race is thrown back into the dark ages. The few left alive must rely on the most basic skills to survive one day to the next. Abby Grant ventures out into a strange new England, her husband dead, the fate of her son unknown. Jenny Richards flees London. Engineer Greg Preston arrives from abroad.

Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures - Season 1

The complete collection of season one of Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures. This includes all six episodes: 'Voyage to Venus', 'The Red Moon Mystery', 'Marooned on Mercury', 'Reign of the Robots', 'Operation Saturn' and 'Prisoners of Space'. Also included are both the documentary Dan Dare: 21st Century Spaceman and New Worlds - the Music of Imran Ahmad.

Five seminal science fiction classics are brought vividly to life in these gripping BBC Radio dramatisations, with casts including Robert Glenister, William Gaunt, Carleton Hobbs and Joanne Froggatt. Titles include Frankenstein (1994), The Time Machine (2009), The Lost World (1975), R.U.R. (1989) and Solaris (2007). Accompanying this collection is a bonus PDF file featuring extensive sleeve notes by Andrew Pixley.

The Avengers - The Lost Episodes, Volume 1

Steed and Dr. Keel return to action in these four re-creations of classic lost episodes. 'Hot Snow'. Written by Ray Rigby, adapted by John Dorney. When an incomprehensible tragedy strikes on what should have been the happiest day of David Keel's life, he is left traumatised. Confronted with an apparently motiveless crime, he feels compelled to investigate and is drawn into London's seedy underworld of drug smuggling.

The Worlds of Big Finish

From the streets of Edwardian London to the corridors of a near-infinite library in the distant future, a single book holds the key to the fate of life on Earth. Some believe it predicts our future - and the apocalypse - with unnerving accuracy. Others will stop at nothing to destroy it and will chase it from one side of the universe to the other, from a country house in the Roaring '20s to the casinos of Mars and from 221B Baker Street to the terrifying desert world of Sisyphus IX....

The continuing adventures of Henry Gordon Jago and George Litefoot, characters first introduced on television in Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977), who have become Infernal Investigators, solving mysteries involving paranormal or alien phenomena in 1880s London.

Based upon the graphic novels by Joe Harris - with creative direction from series creator Chris Carter - and adapted specifically for the audio format by aural auteur Dirk Maggs (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alien: Out of the Shadows), Cold Cases marks yet another thrilling addition to the pantheon of X-Files stories. Featuring a mind-blowing and otherworldly soundscape of liquefying aliens, hissing creatures, and humming spacecraft, listeners get to experience the duo's investigations like never before.

The British government has created the Counter-Measures group, a specialist team that investigates strange phenomena and dangerous technology. This box set contains four of their adventures plus a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Alien: Covenant Origins: The Official Prequel to the Blockbuster Film

The Covenant mission is the most ambitious endeavor in the history of Weyland-Yutani. A ship bound for Origae-6, carrying 2,000 colonists beyond the limits of known space, this is a make-or-break investment for the corporation - and for the future of all mankind. Yet there are those who would die to stop the mission. As the colony ship hovers in Earth orbit, several violent events reveal a deadly conspiracy to sabotage the launch.

Six Degrees of Assassination: An Audible Drama

On a sullen, cloudy July day ten years since 7/7, the happy, confident and optimistic British Prime Minister is visiting a charity in East London. It's just two months after the general election which saw John Campbell's government returned to power with a clear majority, the economy is on the mend and the coalition is fast becoming a bad memory. Suddenly, a man appears out of the crowd and shoots him three times in the chest.

Oregon, summer 1983. A series of mysterious deaths shakes the coastal town of Harmony Bay from its peaceful sleep. Shortly after the death of his wife, Sheriff Cody is called upon to investigate numerous murders which all exhibit strange puncture wounds. Cody and his team expect the murders are committed by a serial killer, but it soon becomes clear something more sinister lurks behind this idyllic town, which becomes his worst nightmare.

John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd star in seven full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramas based on the hit BBC TV series. In "Lost Souls" by Joseph Lidster, voices from the past are calling out from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and scientists are disappearing. Can Torchwood help? 'Asylum' by Anita Sullivan sees PC Andy Davidson turn to Torchwood after he arrests a very unusual shoplifter. 'Golden Age' by James Goss finds the team in Delhi, on the trail of a dangerous energy field.

The Martin Beck Stories: 10 BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965 and 1975, the 10-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandinavian crime fiction. Long before Kurt Wallander or Harry Hole, Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden's liberal society.

Four more supernatural adventures for the infamous infernal investigators: 6.1: 'The Skeleton Quay' by Jonathan Morris; 6.2: 'Return of the Repressed' by Matthew Sweet; 6.3: 'Military Intelligence' by George Mann; 6.4 'The Trial of George Litefoot' by Justin Richards.

We're Alive: A Story of Survival - The First Season

For Army Reserve soldier Michael Cross, the world as he knows it ends in an instant. One minute he’s in college, and the next rioters are roaming the highway around him, breaking into cars and literally tearing people apart. This is the day the dead walk. This is the world of We’re Alive.

Doctor Who - UNIT Dominion

The universe stands on the brink of a dimensional crisis - and the Doctor and Raine are pulled into the very epicentre of it. Meanwhile, on Earth, UNIT scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Klein and an incarnation of the Doctor she's never encountered before are tested to the limit by a series of bizarre, alien invasions. At the heart of it all is a terrible secret, almost as old as the Time Lords themselves.

Four more supernatural adventures for the infamous infernal investigators. 7.1 The Monstrous Menagerie by Jonathan Morris: Jago and Litefoot are on the run! Framed for a crime they didn't commit, the infernal investigators seek refuge in a house on Baker Street owned by their old friend, Professor Dark. That's when Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle enters their lives.

Earthsearch: The Complete Radio Series I and II (Dramatised)

The acclaimed BBC Radio 4 space drama arrives in its entirety for the very first time, with a bonus introduction by creator and writer James Follett. The starship Challenger has been on a 115-year-long mission, exploring other galaxies for suitable Earth-like planets to colonise. The present crew of four were born on the ship and have never left it. But when the Challenger attempts to return to the crew's home planet, it discovers that the Earth has vanished!

The Wireless Theatre Collection, Vol. 1

The award-winning and critically acclaimed Wireless Theatre Company strives to keep radio theater alive and well. From the hilarious to the terrifying, this diverse collection features 10 Wireless Theatre productions in a single volume.

Four more supernatural adventures for the infamous infernal investigators. 8.1 'Encore of the Scorchies' by James Goss. A special musical episode with stunning music and lyrics by Howard Carter! There's a new act at the New Regency Theatre, and Jago and Litefoot are about to face their grand finale. 8.2 'The Backwards Men' by Andy Lane. There's unrest on the streets of London and strange creatures who walk backwards. What is the link to Wednesday's World of Weird Wonders?

Publisher's Summary

It begins with just a few people falling ill. Another flu virus that spreads around the globe. And then the reports begin that people are dying....

When most of the world's population is wiped out, a handful of survivors are left to pick up the pieces. Cities become graveyards. Technology becomes largely obsolete. Mankind must start again....

1.1: 'Revelation' by Matt Fitton. When people begin to die of a new strain of a flu virus, newspaper journalists Helen Wiseman and Daniel Connor investigate. They uncover a terrifying story - but will anyone ever get to read it?

1.2: 'Exodus' by Jonathan Morris. Billions of people have died across the globe. Cities are rife with secondary diseases, and the survivors attempt to make their way out of London.

1.3: 'Judges' by Andrew Smith. After a storm wipes out much of their community's supplies, Greg and Jenny go in search of new provisions - much to Abby's disapproval.

1.4: 'Esther' by John Dorney. Greg, Jenny and their new friends are trapped. Will they ever make it out alive?

Note: Survivors contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.

As a kid I watched the 1st Series of Survivors on 70's TV. I only caught up with series 2/3 on DVD in 2016. But now I wish I never bothered. It's actually Big Finish who belatedly carry on Terry Nation's vision. I have series 1 to 5 on CD. But I re-bought Series 1 & 2 of these Big Finish audio's to put on my Kindle. Good writing and production deserve to be rewarded to continue. That's how good, telling and impact memorable this series is to listen too again!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The montage of characters are all great. All having a history to impact into later recordings. Stick with it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

You can't pick one scene when there's a great arc depicting all the Horrors and Honourable Highs of Human Nature.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Morals and Ethics should always Survive!

Any additional comments?

Terry Nation would have been Proud. Had this remained the tone of the TV series, he would never have left!

As a huge fan of the 70's TV series I was pleased to find this new audiobook series. It's great to hear from Jenny, Abby and Greg. A believable story that ties nicely into the original. As mentioned in at least one review I did have issues hearing certain parts of the audio whilst driving and had to turn the volume up.Overall I'm more than happy with the story and performance

Hard to listen to at times but worth sticking with! Shows how fragile our society is, when things start to happen that we can't control or do anything about! Hopefully we won't have anything like this to deal with ; but they say we are always one day away.....

An interesting concept & great cast, ruined by the worst sound engineering I've ever heard in an audiobook.

Not just some parts being too quiet (some of this was obviously a directorial choice to show people being further away or muffled) but voices clearly not being picked up properly when recorded so no matter how hard you turned it up the words weren't clearly audible.

It's almost like they used really old school microphones that would only record when the actor's mouth was directly in front of them so the sound kept dropping out.

Very disappointing as this was otherwise and interesting production.

Another issue was the choice to use original cast actors in the same roles. A nice idea but rather confusing when you realise a character who sounds like they're in their 50/60s is actually meant to be in their 20/30s.

Also worth bearing in mind is that the last 30 minutes or so of the book is interviews with the cast. They are interesting but it means the book is even shorter than it seems.

If you have an audible account & can get the book for £6 or so it's reasonable but please don't even consider paying the £40 (!!!) they want for it. I don't see ago they could justify that for a 4 hour book even if everything else were perfect!

Overall a medium performance.The start of the book was very promising but the predictable and mediocre story was a let down after about 1/3 into the book.Potential buyers should also be aware that the last 35 min is a sort of making off.The acting ranges from very good to poor. of course it does not help if the actors get stupid lines to read wich does not happen that often but when it does it drags a lot of the story down with it.With a little more effort and a better,gripping story ( where you would care what happens with the characters) this could have been great. As it stands, it is mediocre at best.

Unfortunately I made the error of purchasing this book, but instead I have at best what can be called a radio play.This combined with the dated storyline has made it a 1 * experience for me as an individual

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

I have become a huge fan of full cast audio productions. So much that now when I look for my next listen, I try to find one with at least multiple narrators if not a full cast. The Survivors series was a great addition to my widening library. Although some of the situations were a bit far fetched, just listening to the production itself made it worthwhile. The voice acting was above par and the added music and sound effects brought it even more to life. I will definitely be continuing the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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